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New Instructors the Sport England generation
A TOTAL OF 211 BSAC MEMBERS ARE directly benefiting from a Sport Englandfunded drive to get more instructors into the club network .
Launched at the end of 2020 , the scheme , backed by a £ 10,000 Sport England grant , aims to widen the age and diversity of BSAC Open Water Instructors , although the scheme was open to all eligible .
As a result , 62 members are now progressing or have already completed their Open Water Instructor Course ( OWIC ) with more set to book on . Meanwhile , 64 members are currently working to complete their Dive Leader so they can progress onto the OWIC .
Sport England and BSAC have subsidised all the training places on offer as part of the Instructor mentoring and training scheme .
BSAC Coaching Advisor Mark Paisey , who along with David Ashmore from Reading University SAC has overseen the initiative , said he was delighted by its progress .
“ New instructors are full of enthusiasm and will be keen to generate and lead activity within their own branches . We know many university branches have also taken advantage of the scheme , and we hope this will be positive help for their members ,” Mark added .
Twenty-five-year-old George Davidson , from Putney SAC , is just one of the younger BSAC members taking part in the scheme . George completed his OWIC in December 2020 and is now a fully qualified Open Water Instructor ( OWI ).
“ Training is the key foundation of any successful club , and the scheme gave me the extra motivation to get my OWI done ,” said George . “ I am now teaching in Putney SAC to get a bit more experience , but further down the line I ’ d also like to help out on some regional Skill Development Courses so I can also teach these in my branch .”
BSAC is now planning to develop the scheme for 2022 , with additional financial discounts on training . Full details will be released this autumn .
David Bryant tries out hard hat diving
Old school standards
MEMBERS OF THE BSAC SOUTHERN REGIONAL TEAM RECENTLY WENT back in time to try out standard diving dress at Cromhall Quarry . The old diving kit was donned by Southern Regional Coach David Bryant and regional team member Steven Winstanley after they were invited to try out hard hat diving by the Historical Diving Society ( HDS ).
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